Mużika Mużika changes date to avoid clash with election

Feb 23 2022

Following much discussion and speculation on whether or not Maltese language song festival Mużika Mużika would change its date after an election was announced for March 26th, Festivals Malta have just confirmed that it has been brought forward by a week.

The much awaited festival will now take place between Thursday 17th and Saturday 19th instead of election weekend. Some had commented on the lack of regard towards local festivals and that they should have changed the election date rather than the Mużika Mużika date, however that is clearly not the case.

This year’s edition is set to feature a myriad of local talent covering artists from all across Malta’s musical spectrum

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Former PM Joseph Muscat endorsing Labour Party candidates

Feb 23 2022

Former prime minister Joseph Muscat has been endorsing Labour Party candidates whilst also making appearances at fringe political events.

The former leader has been absent from any headline PL activities so far during the race, but it has been revealed that he will be a special guest at a political event in Marsa on Saturday afternoon.

Newsroom Times of Malta was informed that he has made two endorsement appearances for Chris Agius and Deo Debattista. Saturday’s event will see Muscat endorse Pieta mayor Keith Azzopardi Tanti on the first district.

With this Marsa gathering not being televised, it will also not be attended by Muscat’s successor Robert Abela who will not be on the island as he is scheduled to address an activity in Gozo.

It has also been understood that Muscat has been approached by a number of candidates to make guest appearances and endorsements over the campaign. Abela refused to answer any questions about whether his predecessor would be invited to speak at rallies.

After resigning in 2020 due to the connections between his office and the 2017 Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination as well as keeping a low profile, he started to speak up more last month when his family home was searched by police.

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Yorgen Fenech tested positive for cocaine after one month in prison

Feb 23 2022

Yorgen Fenech had reportedly consumed so much cocaine that he continued to test positive for the drug a month after his arraignment over the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

His lawyers told a court about this, continuing to state that the businessman’s drug addiction emerged on Wednesday as Fenech’s defence team make oral submissions on a lengthy list of pre-trial pleas.

Fenech was arrested on board his yacht in November of 2019 and is awaiting trial for complicity in the journalist’s murder.

Police who interrogated Fenech for hours on an end over a 10 day stretch leading up to the November 30 arraignment knew of the businessman’s drug problem. Inspector Kurt Zahra allegedly told Fenech he had a drug problem and officers were aware he had regularly travelled abroad for rehabilitation.

Shortly after arrest, Fenech was unwell, very agitated and his doctor recommended hospitalisation after administering a tranquilliser his lawyer said. His severe chest pains were attributed to cocaine withdrawal effects, necessitating an angiogram and surgery.

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Instagram now lets users ‘Like’ stories without sending DMs

Feb 23 2022

A new Instagram feature introduced on Monday called Private Story Likes does exactly what it’s called as it changes how people interact with other people’s stories.

Users who receive the update will now be able to like someone’s story without sending a DM. The news was announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Twitter.

While currently any interactions through Instagram Stories are sent by direct messages to the user’s inbox, the new system will be working independently.

❤️ Private Story Likes ❤️

Starting to roll out today, you can now send some love by liking people’s stories without sending a DM.

Likes on stories are private and do not have counts. Rather, they appear as hearts next to people’s handles in your Stories view sheet. 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/l56Rmzgnnw

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 14, 2022

Mosseri demonstrated the new feature in a new video, showing how the new interface will be including a heart icon when you’re viewing Stories in the app. Once tapped, the other person will get a regular notification and not a private message.

Instagram’s head said that the system is built to be private and will not provide counting of likes. This will differentiate stories from regular Instagram posts which will have a public count of likes.

The feature is aimed at making it easier and more fun for users to show support and appreciation for content shared on Instagram stories. This comes as more features were announced, including 3D avatars and the global rollout of the Security Checkup menu.

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